57, published June, 1845, and dedicated to
Mlle. Elise Gavard, is the very sophistication of the art of
musical ornamentation. It is built on a tonic and dominant bass--
the triad of the tonic and the chord of the dominant seventh. A
rocking theme is set over this basso ostinato and the most
enchanting effects are produced. The rhythm never alters in the
bass, and against this background, the monotone of a dark, gray
sky, the composer arranges an astonishing variety of fireworks,
some florid, some subdued, but all delicate in tracery and
design. Modulations from pigeon egg blue to Nile green, most
misty and subtle modulations, dissolve before one's eyes, and for
a moment the sky is peppered with tiny stars in doubles, each
independently tinted. Within a small segment of the chromatic bow
Chopin has imprisoned new, strangely dissonant colors. It is a
miracle; and after the drawn-out chord of the dominant seventh
and the rain of silvery fire ceases one realizes that the whole
piece is a delicious illusion, but an ululation in the key of D
flat, the apotheosis of pyrotechnical colorature.
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